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External compression by metastatic squamous cell carcinoma: a rare cause of left main coronary artery narrowing
B A Weinberg1, C A Pinkerton, B F Waller
1Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
Abstract:
A 69-year-old male with carcinoma of the lung developed unstable angina pectoris during his last few months of life. At necropsy, the coronary arteries were free of atherosclerotic plaque, but the left main artery was severely narrowed by external compression from neoplastic metastases. Persistent anterior ST-segment elevation without evolutionary changes of myocardial infarction was a clue to cardiac involvement by tumor. Direct and indirect effects of metastatic tumors upon the coronary arteries include tumor or thrombi, emboli, wall invasion, or extrinsic wall compression. Extrinsic compression of the left main coronary artery is rare among congenital and acquired conditions producing severe left main disease.